This past 6 weeks, I took the Veritas Full Course and I must say it was quite helpful. Before taking the course, I did not know what to expect on the test and I did not know which questions would be more difficult to handle. However, through this course I was able to brush on on different skills and get a better idea on how the test was structured. Through the course, I was able to find shortcuts and strategies that would help me come to conclusions more quickly and really help understand what the test was all about. I thought my instructor was very helpful and he definitely gave us many extra tips to make the test easier to take. I thought this course was helpful because every aspect of the test was touched upon in great detail which helps me understand what I am going to do. I would suggest that others take the course so they can be the best prepared for the test.

I studied the GMAT starting in Feb/March; enrolled in the course starting in April and finished in June. Took the GMAT once in August after 1.5 months of intense self-studying and improvement. I didn't do as well on the CATs through MGMAT but I was within 10 points. I took a class because I just needed a routine schedule to get into the mode of studying while at work and I also like being able to contact an instructor for any questions. Ron was pretty laid back although he had some quirks about him. But the material was pretty useful. I found that the examples used in class weren't as hard as ones in the practice CATs. I am an engineer so i thought the MGMAT math wasn't so bad but I found MGMAT's math CATs to be harder than what they made you practice during the course. When I took the actual GMAT, I thought the math was extremely easy, so I guess its good to have a training course thats harder than the actual test. On the other hand, I did pretty well on Verbal portion of MGMAT's practice CATs, but I found the actual GMAT to be much harder, in both SC and CR, so that was a throw-off and I didn't get as good of score as I was getting on my practice tests. Lastly, the IR section was insanely easy on the real GMAT compared to the MGMAT practice IR. Markedly large difference. All in all, my score is pretty good and much better than when I started studying in the beginning so using the MGMAT materials definitely boosted my score and understanding of the test.

I decided to sign up for Manhattan GMAT because my sister used this program and had great results.

I took the 9-week session and the depth that Ron Purewal explains each question helped me understand the core fundamental of each problem and alternative ways to solve a problem. The prep material that Manhattan provided was also very complete and had tons of practice problems for review.

After the 9-week course, I signed up for private tutoring with Jake Nicholson. He helped me develop a systematic approach to each problem, which allowed me to avoid careless mistakes and to logically think through each problem, no matter how complex it was.

My 1st practice test score from not knowing anything about GMAT was in the mid-500's. From my 1st official GMAT to my 2nd, I improved my score from 680 to 720. I am very happy with my score and highly recommend Manhattan GMAT for anyone who is preparing for the GMAT!

Honestly, I was tempted to attempt the GMATs with self study but that would've been very foolish. There are just some things you need to know and a lot of things you will waste so much time on, thinking you need to know. This course directs you to use your time efficiently, only on the skills you need to know for the test. It breaks down the material in a very organized and approachable manner. If it wasn't for the course, I probably wouldn't have had any direction. I would've been scrambling around trying to solve every problem individually and concluding that I just have to relearn all my junior high math and grammar rules.

If you want to save time and not overload yourself with unnecessary skills, you need to take this course. Veritas was the toolbox I needed to attack this thing and I'm so glad I learned to use it.

If you take the course with Cliff, take advantage of his expertise. He's always willing to help and it is very obvious that he knows this stuff like the back of his hand. He also breaks down everything you need to know in individual study sheets for your convenience!

I have taken Veritas Prep with Cliff Smith twice. First time was back in 2003 where I scored a 710 after taking his class. Second time was in 2013 when I scored a 740 after taking his class. He is incredibly patient and focused on the key topics and strategies to take you to that next level. His Cliff's Notes are incredibly helpful on topics you haven't learned in 10+ years. Most of all, he is very supportive and responsive to questions and concerns when things aren't going well. I ended up having to take the GMAT twice this time around because I did not get the score I wanted on the first attempt. He helped me diagnose what might have happened to me on the actual exam and I went back, retook it a month later and got the score I wanted. Thank you Cliff!

I've seen the MGMAT books before but I wanted to learn some actual test strategies to hit the 99th percentile. I'm very glad I took the 9-week course under an amazing instructor, Ron Purewal. My score on the GMAT after this course was 760, from an initial mock test score of 670.

Quant: I'm a techie, so I'm used to writing complex equations, doing in-the-air math and spending long hours on tough problems. Unlearning these habits for the GMAT was the most helpful part of this course. After some initial resistance and disastrous mock tests, I understood Ron's emphasis on finding alternate techniques and using common sense in Quant. In every class, once a problem's time was up, Ron would stress stopping work on the problem and actually putting the pen down. This is probably the hardest part for techies - accepting that the problem just beat you. But with Ron enforcing this strategy in every class, I acquired this habit and my quant scores started going up in my mock tests. Ron also teaches several alternatives to algebra to unblock you, these come extremely handy on the actual test.

Verbal: I was terrified of CR questions, I always seemed to get these wrong. Again, Ron's techniques of summarizing the arguments and real-world thinking helped enormously here. After a while, CR became all about common sense and real-world reasoning. Sentence Correction gets easier as you go through the 9 weeks, tougher topics like Modifiers come up later in the course. But it's enough to just practice the topics covered in each class and focus on SC strategy and timing. My only concern was RC, which gets only two classes in the course. While passage-reading techniques, timing and question types were covered, I had to rely on some external resources, like blogs, to recognize the question types and eliminate bad answers.

Mock tests: Very very useful in getting used to the test format. I took 8 MGMAT + 2 GMATPrep tests, one each weekend. The assessment summaries tell you where you're getting better, and where you need to improve. Definitely do the AWA and IR sections to build stamina, the Verbal is a lot tougher then since you're sapped by then (just like the real GMAT).

Takeaways: Rely on Ron to teach you the right techniques for all the problem types, interact as much as you can in his class. Break the bad habits and apply Ron's techniques to practice problems. The strategy guides (especially SC) give you all the necessary content. But the practice is really up to you. Apart from the official OG and guides, I used the MGMAT Question banks, the 494 additional questions from GMATPrep. Also, watch "Thursdays with Ron" for the tough topics. Above all, enjoy the GMAT prep and the test becomes a lot easier.

MGMAT is fantastic -- lessons and instructors are excellent. I found the online resources (+ Thursdays w/ Ron) to be essential to my prep process.

Most of all, Ron Purewal is simply phenomenal, but you already knew that.

Highly recommend!

edit: wondering why the review form mandates 100 words when business schools seek concise and to-the-point writing, and presumably, writers of these reviews plan to attend business school one day. Feels like I just identified a structural problem in the process. And now I'm going to write a few more words so that I can get to the required minimum word count.

I took a GMAT review class with Manhattan GMAT's instructor, Ron. First let me say, he is a total genius! Because of that fact, if you're like me, you are likely to feel a little bit inadequate in his classes as he moves through the problems with ease. Don't let this get you down though. You want the best there is, and you've got him. Ron is amazing at providing different avenues for solving tough problems, which ultimately will make all the difference in increasing your confidence level (and your score) come test day. For me personally, I more or less figured out verbal from the beginning, but I really struggled with quant after not doing things like geometry for many years. Ron helped me to realize that the GMAT is like having a really busy but successful day at work - you are stressed, but on top of it. I went into the test remembering that and I walked out with a 740! I actually drove all the way from San Francisco to Santa Clara to take his class on a friend's recommendation, and I have not regretted the travel once. As my friend is starting at a top 10 b-school and I am starting to fill out my applications, I know that Ron gave us both a solid GMAT foundation to start from. Thanks Ron!

The course is really great! The instructor is very knowledgeable and knows the GMAT like no other, providing useful tips and skills for the test such as summarized notes on main topics covered in class as well as building the mental and physical stamina needed for a test like this.

The veritas prep material is well structured for you to get prepared before you get to class, the method is easy to follow making you think like the test makers as well as learning by doing, the online resources give an excellent support with skill builder activities, online classes, timed homework questions as well as online homework support if needed.

Veritas Prep instructors are among the top 99% scorers on the GMAT. Matt helped me gain 70 points with two months of studying. I was scoring around 590 and I was able to bump my score to 660 on the actual test. I was able to see the greatest improvement in my score in the quant section. I knew the fundamentals. However, I was still making silly mistakes and did not know how to tackle the difficult questions. Matt showed us all the quick tricks to get to the answers quickly and save time. This enabled me to check the answers, thus, getting rid of the silly mistakes that I was making.

The course is 6 days long: 48 hours total. It is very involved and you do get engaged in the learning process all day long. Overall, I am happy with the improvement on my score. I worked on all the books thoroughly and then did the OG13 questions at the end for the preparation.